Liverpool to bid for 2022 World Gymnastics Championships

Liverpool has announced it will bid to host the 2022 World Gymnastics Championships at the waterfront’s Echo Arena.

The city is joining forces with UK Sport and British Gymnastics to try and stage the tournament, which is expected to bring a £6 million economic boost.

If the bid is successful the championships, which would be the biggest ever international sporting event to take place at the venue, would see 700 gymnasts from more than 80 nations gather for 10 days of action, generating an estimated 15,000 bed nights.

Liverpool City Council cabinet members will endorse British Gymnastics’ bid to the Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG) during a meeting tomorrow (15 December).

The 2022 World Gymnastics Championships, which would be the first event for nations to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, would be a lasting legacy of the work undertaken by Liverpool for the 2022 Commonwealth Games bid, which would have also based the gymnastics in the same venue.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson says: “A lot of hard work remains to be done but our exciting bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games is undoubtedly boosted the city’s reputation for its ability to host prestigious sporting events.

“We have world class facilities, brilliant partners in the city and in British Gymnastics and UK Sport, and we have the x-factor in our passionate crowds who are second to none, so I can guarantee we would give the sport of gymnastics a world championships to remember.”

The waterfront venue already hosts the annual British Gymnastics Championships

The championships last took place in the UK in 2015 when it was held in Glasgow, and Echo Arena Liverpool has annually hosted the British Championships since 2012.

Matthew Greenwood, events director at British Gymnastics, says: “We are delighted to partner with Liverpool City Council and UK Sport on the bid for the 2022 World Championships. We have a rich history of working together and staging magnificent events in the city.

“To bring the World Championships back to the UK ahead of the Paris Olympic Games and host it in Liverpool would be fantastic.’

Liverpool’s triple world gymnastics champion, Beth Tweddle, is backing the bid and adds: “I lived, trained and went to university in Liverpool and, having won three world titles, it fills me with a huge amount of excitement and great pride to imagine these championships in our great city in 2022.

“The tournament would be ideal for gymnasts given the compact nature of all the venues and hotels and having competed myself at the Echo Arena know full well what an amazing atmosphere our passionate fans can bring to the event. We also have sport in our blood in Liverpool, and I know our passionate and friendly fans would ensure an amazing atmosphere!”

The Federation of International Gymnastics is expected to announce the winning bid for the 2022 World Championships at its next council meeting in Istanbul in May 2018.